The easiest way to introduce a little-known game to an audience is usually to start off with the developer's name and some basic genre information. For example, if this were 1987 I might write, "'Super Mario Bros.' is a colorful platformer developed by Nintendo."

"Proteus" is ... well, it was developed by Ed Key and David Kanaga, and it's coming to the PlayStation 3 and Vita this autumn.

"Proteus" is a game, for starters, about exploration, discovery, serenity, and beauty. It's a first-person walkabout on a procedurally-generated, procedurally-pixelated island, complete with rolling valleys, inky black lakes, shooting stars, and ancient, towering mountains. As the seasons change, you'll find new things to ogle at and listen to, as each part of the island has its own musical signature.

Its synesthetic devotion to calm exploration might be broadly similar to thatgamecompany's "Flower" but it's a lot more freeform, experimental, and (appropriately) malleable.

The PlayStation port is being handled by Curve Studios, who are striving to make it "even better than the original," according to a post on the official PlayStation blog. Release date and pricing details haven't been announced yet, but "Proteus" will be a Cross Buy game, meaning that both the PS3 and Vita versions will be purchased at the same time.

"Proteus" was released for Windows, Mac, and Linux on Steam and its official website earlier this year, after winning a brace of awards from IndieCade, the Independent Games Festival, and Amaze.